Entries were taken Wednesday for the eight Claiming Crown races and handicappers should be salivating over the opening-day Gulfstream card. The fields are full for the 16th renewal of an event whose roots reach back to Canterbury Park in 1999 where it all began.
“I think the Claiming Crown is a great thing,” said trainer Peter Walder, who entered three horses in this year’s event, including King’s Over in the $200,000 Jewel. “It’s a claiming guy’s version of the Breeders’ Cup. I had a great time when it was held at Canterbury, but now that it’s run in our own backyard, you really have to support it.” Read the full DRF story HERE.
Claiming Crown officials have added the $110,000 Canterbury to the 2014 line-up to honor the event’s origins. The 5 furlong turf dash drew 16 entrants and will be run as the seventh race on the 10-race program which begins at 11:35 AM central.
The $200,000 Jewel drew 14 including Eriugena for trainer Mike Maker and owners Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, the events winningest trainer and owner. Read more in Bloodhorse.com .
The Claiming Crown was always envisioned as a tribute to the bread-and-butter claiming horses and their owners that fill a majority of race cards in the country. When it began in 1999 the purses were such that the event attracted horses from around the country. Once slot-parlor money began infiltrating purse structures it became exceedingly difficult to attract horsemen, especially from the east, to Shakopee. In its current form Claiming Crown has reached the purse level that founders had always hoped for. Looking at the heavily east coast/Florida based entries, Claiming Crown may have lost a bit of the national flavor that was also part of the vision. But for the gambler, this is a glorious day and for the owners that play the claiming game it is a well-deserved opportunity.
In The Money Contest
If you have a vibe on Claiming Crown, you can turn it into extra cash in the In The Money handicapping contest. Select a horse in each of the 10 races that will hit the board; $10 entry fee; $450 minimum prize pool. Entrants that run the table win the money. If there are no winners, the prize pool carries over to Dec. 13.
141st KY Derby Future Wager 2014-15 – Pool 1/Race 1
Below are the final odds for Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. Pool 2 will be Feb. 6 – 8
Program
Horse Name
ODDS
$2 Payoff
1
American Pharoah
12-1
$27.60
2
Blofeld
40-1
$82.80
3
Calculator
71-1
$145.20
4
Carpe Diem
15-1
$33.00
5
Classy Class
99-1
$254.40
6
Competitive Edge
47-1
$97.20
7
Daredevil
48-1
$98.80
8
Dortmund
9-1
$20.20
9
Eagle
54-1
$110.20
10
El Kabeir
74-1
$151.80
11
Frosted
38-1
$78.80
12
I Spent It
99-1
$203.40
13
Imperia
27-1
$56.40
14
Lord Nelson
72-1
$146.60
15
Lucky Player
99-1
$263.20
16
Mr. Z
47-1
$97.20
17
Ocho Ocho Ocho
29-1
$61.40
18
Ostrolenka
99-1
$282.80
19
Punctuate
60-1
$123.20
20
Texas Red
14-1
$30.20
21
The Great War
72-1
$147.40
22
Unblunted
99-1
$373.60
23
Upstart
53-1
$109.40
24
All Others 3YOs
3/5
$3.20
